Auto-wheel.



P. W. HOLTZ.

AUTO WHEEL;

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19. 1914.

2 BHEETS*SH EET 1.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

F. W. HOLTZ.

AUTO WHEEL.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 1s. 1914.

1,125,324. y Patented tM1119, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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nuTTnp sTATas raTnaiT onirica FREDERICK W. HOLTZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTO-WHEEL.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK ll. HoLTz, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful improvementsin Auto-Vheels; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of. the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates primarily to cushioned vehicle wheels, but moreespecially to that class of the latter in which the wheel is entirelyinclosed by a metallic casing.

`One object of my invention is to provide a wheel structure of thischaracter which possesses all the resilient advantages of the pneumatictire without the attendant disadvantages and annoyances from punctures,etc., incident to the use of the latter.

Another important object of the same is to provide a device of this kindin which there is a differential rotary movement between the casing andwheel disposed therein.

A still further object is to provide a unique dust and fluid tightconnection be- 1 tween the casing and the axle and hub.

A still further object is to provide such a connection between thecasing and the axle and hub, as will permit free movement of the easingin all directions.

Another object is to provide a novel means for retaining the wheelcentrally located within the casing. r

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists of certainnovel combinations and arrangement of parts which will be moreparticularly pointed out and claimed.

ln the accompanying drawings, in which similar numerals indicatecorresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side view partly in sec- -tion withthe side plate partly-broken away;

Fig. 2 is a transverse irregular sectional view taken on the line 2 2 ofFig. 1; Fig. 3 is a similar view of half the wheel on an enlarged scale;and Fig. 4L is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of'Fig. 1,-

illustrating the arrangement and construction of the wheel centralizers.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicatesY the hub of astandard automobile wheel, 2, provided with an ordinary pneumatic tire3. The numeral 4f indicates the inner annular plate of my improved cas-Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented J an. 19, 1915.

Application filed January 19, 1914. Serial No. 813,001.

ing which is disposed on the inner side of the wheel and formed with acentrally arranged opening l, the latter having a diameter slightlygreater than that ofthe hub 1. The opposite side of the wheel isprovided with a similarly shaped plate 5, having an opening 4, whosediameter corresponds to that of the opening in the plate 4. These platesare constructed of sheet metal so as to readily withstand the jarsincident to heavy traveling.

Between the outer portions of the plates 1 and 5 immediately above thetire 2, in order that the latter may have a rolling contact therewith, Iprovide a rubber tread 6 which is retained in position by the threadedbolts 7, passing therethrough and through the casing; the bolts 7 beingretained in position by any appropriate means.

To prevent any unnecessary wear on the tread which might arise from theturning of the bolts therein, the latter are incased in cylindrical oroblong tubes 8 which are passed through the bolt openings in the tread,as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

For the provision of a dust and fluid proof connection between the innerportion of the plates el and 5, the axle 10 and hub 1, I utilize twometallic disks 11 and 12, which I shall, for the sake of convenience,designate as inner and outer plates, respectively.

r1`he inner plate 11 whose diameter isslightly greater than that of theopening 4e in plate 1, when placed on the axle 10 which passes throughthe centrally arranged opening therein and brought into contact with theshoulder 18 formed by the reduced portion of the axle, will entirelycover the opening in the inner plate 4:. This disk in effect forms asolid cover for the inner side of the wheel, as can be clearly seen inFig. 2. The other disk 12 is similar in every respect to the plate 11with the exception of the central opening which is a trifie larger topermit the enlarged end of the hub to b e passed therethrough. To formthe hereinbefore mentioned dust and fluid tight connection between thedisks 11 and 12 and platesl and 5, I form an annular channel lll, on theouter portion of each disk, and fill the former with the packing 15.While this arrangement, it will be seen, forms a perfect dust and Huidproof connection between the plates and disks, nevertheless it does not1nterfere in any way with the free movement of the plates l and 5. A cap16 threaded on the outer end of hub 1, holds the disks and plates inproper position upon the wheel.

To maintain the wheel 2 in a central position within the casing formedby plates 4l and 5, I employ what I may call ccntralizers 17, which areclamped to two or more of the spokes, composed of two sections a spacingmember 17 and a retaining member 17. The former has its central portionsemicircular in configuration to substantially conform to the shape ofthe spoke, and carries at its extremities two bearing blocks 20 whichbear against the inner faces of the plates it and 5 thereby continuouslyretaining the wheel in central position. The retaining member' has asimilarly shaped central portion, While its laterally projectingportions are provided with apertures which when the two members areplaced together upon the spokes will register with the apertures formedin member 17 permitting the passage of the bolts 21 through said memberswhereby the latter can be securely retained in position upon the spokesas shown In 4:;

In order to give access to the wheel 2 Aafter the latter has beenincased, I provide an opening 18 in the outer plate 5, and form saidopening with a threaded flange around its edge to receive a cap 19, asclearly shown in Fig. 3. v

From the foregoing, it will be seen that while I have completely incasedthe wheel 2, nevertheless, the latter is perfectly free to rotatetherein, thus establishing` a differential movement between the wheeland casing. Heretofore, it has been customary to secure the wheel to thecasing, but experience has disclosed the fact that if the wheel andcasing are allowed to move separately, the former merely having arollin-g contact with the latter, an enormous amount of wear and strainis avoided, because when the wheel and casing are fixed, there is aconstant tendency on the part of the latter to creep, that is, moveabout the periphery of the wheel which causes considerable strain on thevarious parts thereof, whereas, when the casing and wheel are notconnected in any way, the former is not only free to move around thewheel avoiding the strain mentioned above, but it may also have i arectilinear movement so that when the wheel meets an obstruction in theroad, the entire casing will yield and press against the iiieiisedpneumatic tir, hence giving my improved wheel the resiliency of theordinary unincasedl `wheel without any of the disagreeable featuresconnected with the same.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the inventionwill be readily understood without requiring a more extendedexplanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the principle orsacrificing any of the advantages of the claimed invention.

I claim as my invention In a device of the character set forth thecombination with an axle having ianges spaced from its extremities, awheel, a pneumatic tire thereon, inner and outer plates disposed onopposite sides of the wheel, each of said plates having an openingcentrally arranged therein, inner and outer disks to cover the openingsin said inner and outer plates respectively, said disks each having achannel formed in the inner faces thereof contiguous to their outeredges, packing disposed within said channels, and a tread securedbetween the outer edges of said inner and outer plates; of acentralizing clamp secured to the spokes of said wheel and including twomembers one of the latter being arcuately shaped intermediate its endsto substantially conform to half the circumference of one of saidspokes, guiding blocks secured tothe extremities of said member formaintaining said wheel in predetermined relation with respect to saidinner and outer plates, the other member of openings formed in the i-rstmentioned part `i of saidclamp and means passing through said openingswhereby to maintain the parts of said clampin adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto seti,

my hand in presence of two subscribing witne'sses. n i v,

i FREDERICK W. I-IOLTZ. Witnesses:

SAMUEL O. OLIN, C. OSCAR OLIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe ommiss'ioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. f

